Environmental study names BA ‘dirtiest’ transatlantic airline

British Airways has come bottom of the league after being named ‘dirtiest’ operator on the transatlantic route by an environmental think-tank.

British Airways found to be down the league when it came to fuel efficiency on transatlantic route. Image by David Kernan / CC BY 2.0

The probe by the International Council on Clean Transportation found both British and US legacy airlines fared poorly while at the top end, Norwegian Air Shuttle emerged as the most fuel-efficient carrier flying between Europe and North America.

Norwegian airlines emerged on top in terms of fuel efficiency Image by Aero Icarus / CC BY-SA 2.0

In comparison with its Norwegian rival, BA burned 51% more fuel on a passenger by passenger basis. The three lowest ranked airlines, BA, SAS and Lufthansa, between them, account for over 20% of transatlantic traffic.

Air Berlin finished second as most fuel efficient carrier across the Atlantic Image by Steven Straiton / CC BY 2.0

The MailOnline reports that the Council, which previously assisted in uncovering Volkswagen’s pollution cheating, looked at data from 20 airlines in this study. It found that, in BA’s 6,000 plus flights between London and New York, the Boeing 747-400 was the predominant plane used while Norwegian employed the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner which is recognized as more fuel efficient. In the winner’s slipstream came Air Berlin and Ireland’s Aer Lingus in second and third positions respectively.

Under the study’s special formula, it was found that Norwegian averaged 40 passenger kilometres per litre of fuel, while BA’s average was as low as 27, although the airline has confirmed it has made improvements by reducing its carbon footprint by buying more fuel efficient craft.